McDaniel to host Gala Inauguration Concert

McDaniel College will host a Gala Inauguration Concert, “Changing Lives for a Changing World,” at 7 p.m. April 10 in Baker Memorial Chapel to help kick off a week of events leading up to the inauguration of its ninth president, Dr. Roger N. Casey.

The concert, which is free and open to the public, will include performances by McDaniel choirs, musical ensembles and faculty musicians. This concert celebrates a future filled with new adventures, while recognizing the rich and diverse heritage from which those pathways are already emerging.

“We will play and sing both new and old works together in many combinations, student ensembles, faculty ensembles, ensembles mixing students and faculty as well as alumni and community members together. That is how music works, weaving the lives of all sorts of people together for years through shared harmonies, rhythms, melodies, and sometimes lyrics. Music then helps build the heritage of the greater community while inspiring creativity,” says Margaret Boudreaux, chair of the Music Department.

A perfect representative of McDaniel’s musical heritage, the newly rebuilt Aeolian Skinner organ, begins the concert with Dupré in a virtuoso and celebratory display. First dedicated more than 50 years ago when Baker Memorial Chapel was built, it now heralds a new era with a new voice for a new century.

The gala concert is a musical journey around the world and through the centuries. Traditional works include the Brahms Trio for French Horn, Violin and Piano as played by the Westminster Ensemble, frequently featured at Chamber Music on the Hill, the Kuhlau very popular Grand Quartet played by our own Flute Quartet, and College Choirs “With a Voice of Singing,” often heard in ceremonial settings in Baker Memorial Chapel. Brand new works include “Walking with Wesley,” composed for this occasion by Walt Michael of Common Ground on the Hill. He composed it remembering walking with his daughter, Wesley, but also chose a name that resonates with McDaniel’s past relationship with the Methodist Church.

The program explores the world via many genres – from 17th century Spanish poetry by Felix Lope de Vega in Vamos a la Playa, traditional West African rhythms played by Andikra Drum Ensemble, to a dance-inspired work for Clarinet Ensemble by Czech-American 20th century composer, Nelhybel.

For a complete schedule of Inauguration Week events – which are free and open to the public – and to register your attendance, visit www.mcdaniel.edu/inauguration .